Deep Fried Bacon

A few days ago I wrote about my favorite types of fried chicken. I understand that wasn't your traditional deep-fried super crispy chicken; I appreciate that. I would love to be able to make chicken like that. If I could make chicken like that I probably wouldn’t ever make anything else. And I’d probably never leave my apartment and I’d weigh about 500 pounds. But I live in a New York apartment, with a teeny tiny kitchen. If I deep fry (and I mean seriously deep fry, in at least 4” of oil) everything in that kitchen gets a greasy film and I have to stare at its dirtiness and it stays filthy until I'm having guests and actually need that serving platter and then it is gross and whoever is trying to help in the kitchen thinks I am unhygienic and unfit for food handling.

Therefore, I tend to like things that get pan fried, the mess is so much more manageable, especially with my splatter shield. And I fool myself into thinking it is somehow healthier. But believe me – I cant wait to go home to my parents’ house and start up their deep fryer.

I'll throw anything in there. Just shut your eyes, open the fridge, grab, and fry. I promise it will be delicious. My brother, C. Raisinhater, made the best onion rings ever – all you do is mix beer into flour until it is barely a paste, dip your rings in, and throw them into boiling hot oil. This year we're considering an all-deep fried thanksgiving, including a burn-down-the-garage fried turkey.

The must superlative fried treat ever, though, was the deep fried tempura bacon at The Red Cat. Typically The Red Cat serves delicious tempura green beans (they are classified as a vegetable and are easy to overlook on the lower portion of the menu if you are not careful). But, last time I went, they also had BACON TEMPURA! It is exactly as it sounds. It is cooked bacon, tempura battered and deep fried. It was truly as good as you imagine it to be. You know you want some. Go on down there before they take it off the menu!